Naomi Osaka was cruising towards a routine second-round win, and then everything went haywire. The two-time US Open champion had won the first set comfortably, 6-2, and held a 4-2 lead in the second against Katerina Siniakova before her level collapsed. Unforced errors piled up, the ball toss was all over the place, and it was taking her at least two or three attempts on every alternate serve just to get the toss right. The frustration spilled into small racket smashes, loud grunts after missed shots. Siniakova capitalized, reeling off games to steal the second set 7-5. 

Osaka used the changeover to reset in more ways than one, taking an attire change to try to settle herself down. It worked almost immediately, and she opened the third set by winning three straight games. 

“Definitely had a couple opportunities in the second set, and I think I was a little bit too hard on myself,” she said afterward during the on-court interview. “So I took the bathroom break, regrouped a little, came back, and just tried to have no regrets.”

Osaka committed only four unforced errors in the first set, and 20 in the second before pulling it together to just five more in the third. Even with her level restored, nothing about the closing stages came easily. Siniakova, doubles world No. 1, made her opponent earn every point by putting every ball back on court and playing that extra shot to force Osaka to make a mistake. But the four-time Grand Slam champion was calm and composed, and made sure she completed every point with finesse, finally closing out the match 6-2, 5-7, 6-1. 

Asked what specifically got her through the reset, she circled back to something bigger than tactics or technique. She spoke about the court itself, and what it has meant to be back playing on it in these circumstances. 

“I just told myself that it’s an honor to play on this court, you know,” she said. “I’m playing two matches back to back on this court. So it’s a big honor for me. And I just want to keep playing in front of you guys if possible. So, just try to fight as best as I can.”

With this win, the 13th seed has set up a third-round matchup against an opponent she already knows well.

A familiar name waiting in round three

Naomi Osaka will next face 23rd seed Elise Mertens, a player she leads 6-3 in their head-to-head series. This includes a win as recently as last month in Toronto, where she needed just 72 minutes to defeat Mertens 6-1, 6-2. Osaka has already defeated the Belgian twice this season, sweeping in straight sets in both contests. 

Mertens has had to earn her way into the third round. She started her campaign with a straightforward 6-4, 6-4 victory over wildcard Kaitlin Quevedo, posting a high first-serve winning percentage of 79 percent, which put her opponent out of the game. Her second-round win over Maria Timofeeva was far more difficult, as she raced through the first set and then fought her way through the second-set tiebreaker to seal the match 6-2, 7-6(7-5).

Last year, the former world No. 1 made it to the semifinals at Flushing Meadows, losing narrowly to Amanda Anisimova. This year she has already stacked up her career-best performances at the French Open and Wimbledon. When she returned to the tour after injuries, motherhood, and a mental break, it was clear that she just didn’t return to participate but to win tournaments. Will she be able to cap her exceptional season with a fifth career Grand Slam at the same place where she won her first against Serena Williams?